Lesse... met up with ciderpress last night for drinks and some grub, and my dad the night before because it was his birthday. Both nights I could have quite happily gone to bed at 10... methinks I'm possibly not quite over my weekend shenanigans yet.

I got a huge paycheck today - yearly bonus and raise - which is very good news as last month turned out to be quite expensive... some of it's gone out again immediately of course, but I'm pleased to be ahead of the game again. This still doesn't mean I'm staying here at this company, btw... as soon as I find another job, I'm gone.

It's kinda sunny and nice in London which is great... but if it gets too hot I get dozy as my lizard brain cannot cope with the heat.

Hi all - for mysterious reasons, I am currently suffering from an upset stomach, heartburn and nausea. I know the cause but I was wondering - anyone know any good ways of dealing with sick-to-the-stomach nausea? It's most unpleasant.

buddleia and I are moving next Saturday from a large four bedroom house to a small but nice two-person flat. Having lived here for the last four and a half years (and not paying rent, but that's a whole other story), and not having a house-where-my-parents-live-and-where-most-of-my-old-junk-is-stored-at-least-not-in-this-country-anyway-and-besides-my-room-in-Bahrain-no-longer-exists-and-god-only-knows-what's-happened-to-all-the-things-I-used-to-own-in-my-childhood-but-don't-get-me-started-on-THAT, I understandably have lots of stuff. The stuff I've collected in the four and a half years of living here, the stuff from my university (and after) years in Brighton - say seven or eight years - and the few straggly remnants of my two years in bore-ding school many lifetimes ago.

This stuff... it accretes, you know.

And now I have less than a week to sort through it all and put it into piles and boxes... the stuff I'm packing and taking with me, the stuff I'm packing and maybe taking along later if I have room for it, the stuff I'm definitely leaving behind in this house but might have to come back for and move into storage or something if my parents sell or rent the place out, the stuff I'm throwing away outright, and the stuff for the charity shop.

Less than a week. Aii-ee.

And I keep coming across more stuff. Like my ancient collection of music on audio cassettes, and ditto with old VHS tapes - what do I do with all that? My obsolete but still perfectly functional X-box first generation and attached games - you can't even trade those in anymore, trust me I've tried. My spare monitor, speakers and keyboard. My old computer games. Boxes of photos.

What do you do with the stuff you want to keep but maybe can't take with you where you're moving? And how do you know - after so many years and yous have passed - what to hold on to, and when to let go?

Current Mood:confused

Current Location:the one part of London where it's not snowing apparently

Well f*ck that for a game of soldiers... just had an interview for a promotion at work.

Unfortunately: a) the buses were messed up again today, so I got in about two or minutes late (luckily late for the test, not the actual interview), b) I slept vey badly on account of c) the sinus infection I have, that broke out in a fever just before the interview. Brilliant. Because I love interviews so much in the first place.

So how did I do?

Let's just say it would have been better if I'd walked in, ripped off all my clothes, stuck a rose up my arse, and recited a few Shakespeare sonnets.

At least then I might have gotten a few bonus points for style.

ETA: Huh... shows what I know. I got it.

I will never understand the way companies work, I swear. *I* wouldn't have hired me... *shrugs and goes back to work*

And from buddleia this link to frozen bubbles. She says: "Amazingly beautiful, I had no idea bubbles could freeze!"

And did you know there's a British film coming out called Lesbian Vampire Killers? I was sold on the title alone...

I am mostly playing Fable 2 on the X-box and Fallout 3 on the PC, and trying to ignore the horrible atrocities taking place in Gaza. My mother told me that Bahrain and many other countries in the Middle East cancelled or at least scaled back their New Year's celebrations as a sign of respect.

I am having horrible dreams about a birthday party of mine that keeps going wrong, and have no idea what this means.

Tonight buddleia 's Dad turned up - he'll be staying with us for Christmas lunch and for a few days - and I made vol-au-vents (with many triumphant fillings) and other nibbles. He and I are watching Lakeview Terrace but buddleia has been roped into her aunt's annual Christmas Eve party with all the extended family. We opted out. I am full of good food, and nice wine and Cava and vodka and cranberry juice, and feeling warm and mellow and content. Looking forward to my long long vacation.

The work stress is finally easing up after two months, so hopefully I will stop being plagued with dreams of spreadsheets and booking forms because dreams about work are not fun. One week to go, and then some much-deserved time off, yay.

Of course this means I'm a bit behind on my Christmas preparations and especially present buying... oh good, something else to panic about instead of work! I'm trying not to panic though, as buddleia seems to think this may be bad for me.

Went to meet my friend Paul in central London today for lunch and a natter and a quick wander round shops (wisely avoiding Oxford Street, we instead made a quick sortie through Covent Garden and Forbidden Planet). It was really nice to just chill and mooch for a few hours.

On the way home I was reminded of the madness of being out in Central London as it comes up to Saturday night - flee from the madness of the London drunk crowd! - as I saw no fewer than 30 people in different groups dressed as Santa - both male and female, and no they weren't collecting for charity either. They were definitely going for a night out. Dressed as Santa. In groups.... *shakes head*

And then on the train on the way home, as we were passing Clapham Junction, I saw an actual ginormous steam train! The windows were dimly lit as if by candle or gaslight, with very few passengers (only barely glimpsed in the gloom) and the train itself was very loud, with plumes of smoke. It must have been some special hire or more likely an organised special experience journey. Very cool to see... although with the gaslit steam train and the multiple Santas, I did feel like I was trapped in a Dr Who Christmas Special.

And today was too cold, too wet, and too crowded! Ahhhh, so nice to be home dry and warm with no more plans for the evening :)

I actually couldn't talk about the US elections for the last couple of days because I didn't want to jinx anything. I am very pleased for the US, and the rest of the world also.

But not as shocked as I was when the US re-elected Bush.

Or when they elected him the first time due to a problem with counting. For fuck's sake, did you never watch Sesame Street? Counting. It's easy.

Now those two elections... those were historic occasions. Just not for a good reason. This one, happily, looks like it may go better. But I'm still not uncrossing my fingers.

Americans? You better not impeach this one for goat-fucking. I don't care if your new President turns out to be a rampant goat-fucker, pulling little Bleaty out onto the podium at White House Press conferences and going at it while singing the national anthem. I couldn't care less about his moral fibre. It's what you do that counts, and the same writ large when you're the President.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is - please. Normal Americans and the rabid American media and bitchy American partisan politicians - please don't fuck it up.

Thanks! And congratulations again. We're all rooting for you over here in the rest of the world.

... if you're at all interested in zombies (ok, and live in the UK, fair enuff*) you will have heard that Charlie Brooker (Guardian critic and columnist) has written a Zombie TV miniseries called Dead Set that is premiering next week?

You must have done. Come on. ("And don't call me Shirley!")

It's mostly set in the Big Brother house after a zombie outbreak.

Watch it! I will.

*and if you don't live in the UK, sorry! But I'm sure you'll be able to find it online before too long. Cough, I mean, in a reputable media vendor.